Posts published in “Whitlam Speeches”

Constitutional Changes After 1975

November 11, 2000

This is the text of a speech by Gough Whitlam.

The speech was delivered to the Australian National University Law Faculty Dinner at the Lobby Restaurant, opposite Old Parliament House.

Whitlam deals with the political and constitutional nature of the 1975 crisis and proposes a series of constitutional, parliamentary and electoral reforms.

Five years ago I and many other participants and observers wrote books and articles and spoke in conferences and programs on the coup d’état of 11 November 1975. For the 25th anniversary I chose a forum and symposium under the auspices of the Law Faculty of the ANU.

The Faculty, however, chose this venue. There have probably been more post-mortems on the events of November 1975 held here at the Lobby than anywhere else in Australia, although wine and truth do not necessarily go together. Old hands tell me that lunch at the Lobby has never recaptured its former civility or capaciousness since luncheon was so suddenly curtailed on the eleventh of the eleventh. In any case, two decisions during my Government’s second term irrevocably altered the Lobby’s geographical and institutional status. For more than a decade, the proposed site for the new and permanent Parliament House wandered futilely between the lakeside, Capital Hill and Camp Hill; on 26 September 1974 the ALP member for Burke, Keith Johnson, successfully initiated a private member’s bill, The Parliament Bill, to build the new House on Capital Hill. On 29 September 1975 I unveiled a plaque to commemorate the start of construction of the building for the High Court of Australia. This plaque, on the insistence of Chief Justice Barwick, has been set flush with the floor in the court building.

Opening The Dismissal Exhibition: Speech By Gough Whitlam

November 11, 2000

This is the text of Gough Whitlam’s speech at the opening of The Dismissal exhibition at Old Parliament House.

Peter, fellow subjects –

I thank you and your excellent staff for inviting me to this exhibition. You are the pleasant face of conservatism and conservation in Australia. I could not say that if I had been invited by graven images in the Senate, such as Alston or Herron. Even in this King’s Hall I must say that Russell Crowe would look better than George V does in the uniform of a Roman emperor.

Thank you all for coming to this presentation of the end of the brief golden age for which Australians voted on 2 December 1972 and again on 18 May 1974. It was a golden age. As the better Fairfax writers have noted, it ended when the Australian dollar was worth one and a half US dollars. The Aussie dollar is now worth barely 50 US cents. We were given Moody’s top rating (Aaa) in 1974 and Standard and Poor’s top rating (AAA) in 1975.

I have only one quibble with my friend Malcolm Fraser’s presentation. The Senators would have cracked at the end of the week. Check the winning positions on the Coalition Senate ballot papers in May 1974 and December 1975.

That Politicians Have Lost Their Sense Of Humour

May 24, 2000

This is the text of Gough Whitlam’s contribution to a debate at the Sydney Town Hall.

The Order in the House debate was on the topic: “That politicians have lost their sense of humour.”

Ma’am, Prime Minister, Men and Women of Australasia –

I unsuccessfully stood for the New South Wales Parliament in 1950. A year later a Labor MLA named Howard was caught in bed with another man’s wife. A private inquiry agent gave evidence that Howard was wearing only his sox. When Howard next spoke in the House there were constant interjections: “Why were you wearing sox for sex?” At last he replied “So I wouldn’t catch a social disease”. Immediately there were cries “What social disease did she have?” He replied “Tinea”. I couldn’t again stand for a Parliament where the humour was so vulgar. I should add that Howard’s conduct made him very popular in the cattle country he represented. He survived till 1968. His surname was Fowles. The judge who heard the case said he had barnyard morals.

Whitlam’s Speech At The 175th Anniversary Of The Supreme Court Of NSW

May 17, 1999

This is Gough Whitlam’s speech at the 175th anniversary of the Supreme Court of NSW.

Gough Whitlam’s speech at the 175th anniversary of the Supreme Court of NSW.

May it please the court, I have the honour and the privilege of speaking today on behalf of the Bar of New South Wales.

At Government House, on the corner of Bridge and Phillip Streets, on the 17 May 1824, Francis Forbes Esquire took the oath of office as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of New South Wales. We are gathered together to remember gratefully that day and its consequences. New South Wales had a Chief Justice before it had a Legislative Council or a Legislative Assembly or a Premier. For 175 years the Supreme Court has been primarily responsible for ensuring that the executive, legislature and judiciary of New South Wales obey the rule of law.

In Australia we do not learn and discuss our history as much as we should. For too many of us history happens in other countries. Except in New York State and a few of the other original States in the United States, no common law court in the world bears a name as old as the Supreme Court of New South Wales. Seven days before Chief Justice Forbes took his oath, John Lewes Pedder took the oath of office as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Van Diemen’s Land. After the colonies of New Zealand, Victoria and Queensland were separated from the colony of New South Wales, Chief Justices of the new Supreme Courts took their oaths of office in January 1842, June 1852 and February 1863. The Supreme Court of Van Diemen’s Land became the Supreme Court of Tasmania in November 1855.

Whitlam: A PM On PMs

December 3, 1997

Video of Gough Whitlams's PM on PMs address at Old Parliament House on the 25th anniversary of the election of his government.

Gough Whitlam’s Eulogy For Lance Barnard: “My Oldest And Best Mate”

August 15, 1997

Lance Barnard died on August 6, 1997, at the age of 78.

Barnard, the member for the Tasmanian seat of Bass (1954-75), was Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence during the first term of the Whitlam government. Barnard also served in the two-man ministry, with Whitlam between December 3-19, 1972. He held 14 portfolios in the interim administration, one more than Whitlam.

Barnard had been deputy to Whitlam since their election on February 8, 1967. Following the 1974 election, Barnard was replaced as deputy by Dr. Jim Cairns. Shortly afterwards, Whitlam appointed Barnard as Ambassador to Sweden, Norway and Finland.

In the ensuing by-election in Bass, there was a 14.3% swing against the ALP and the seat was won by the Liberal Party’s Kevin Newman. The by-election signalled the unpopularity of the Whitlam government and probably emboldened the Coalition to block Supply a few months later.

Whitlam Address To Murdoch University Student Law Society

July 25, 1997

This is a revised version of Gough Whitlam’s address to the Murdoch University Student Law Society.

Introduction by Professor Michael Blakeney – Dean of the Law School

It’s my very great honour to welcome Gough Whitlam to the Murdoch Law School. One of the reasons that Gough is here is that I was interviewed by the law students’ newspaper and asked who I would most like to spend the night with. I mentioned Gough!

Gough has had a profound influence on my life and on the lives of my generation. To understand that proposition, you have to appreciate the flavour of the political and intellectual climate of Australia in the mid to late sixties when I was a law student. To appreciate some of that I commend to you the autobiographical works and diaries of that great Western Australia, Paul Hasluck. He communicates something of the stench for what my generation considered to be the intellectual mediocrity and stultification of the post-Menzies years. Australian involvement in the Vietnam War was a tangible manifestation of the moral bankruptcy of our leadership at that time. In 1972 the younger generation, which at the time included me, looked to Gough Whitlam as a shining beacon in the darkness.

Whitlam Comments On Barwick’s Letter To Kerr

July 8, 1997

Gough Whitlam commented in detail on Sir Garfield Barwick’s letter to Sir John Kerr in a speech to The Sydney Institute in 1997.

On November 10, 1975, Barwick tendered legal advice to Sir John Kerr that approved of Kerr’s intention to dismiss Whitlam.

Text of Gough Whitlam’s speech to The Sydney Institute.

I am doubly indebted to Gerard Henderson; first, for inviting me to address the Sydney Institute; and secondly, for providing me, albeit unwittingly, with the text for these introductory remarks.

More than that, Gerard has set down one of the main reasons why I chose to spend a considerable part of the past couple of years writing a book.

Whitlam’s Address At The Opening Of The Trade Union Education Foundation

February 9, 1997

This is the text of Gough Whitlam’s speech at the opening of the Trade Union Education Foundation.

Whitlam canvassed a range of issues, including education, electoral reform and indigenous issues in relation to Mabo and Wik.

The speech was delivered at Sydney Town Hall.

Gough Whitlam speech at the opening of the Trade Union Education Foundation.

Men and Women of Australia; is the salutation I reserve for great occasions. It is entirely appropriate that I should use it to greet this assembly today.

I was delighted to accept Bill Kelty’s invitation to give the first lecture in this eponymous series. If this had been a Whitlam Memorial Lecture I could only have been with you in spirit.

I appreciate the honour deeply and congratulate the ACTU warmly on its initiative in establishing the Trade Union Education Foundation.

Through this initiative the ACTU re-affirms one of the Labor Movement’s oldest and best traditions: its educative role within our own ranks and in the wider community.

20 Years On: Four Corners Remembers The Dismissal

November 11, 1995

Four Corners broadcast a 20-year anniversary program on The Dismissal in November 1995.